Secret Garden is Norwegian composer Rolf Loveland (piano, keyboards) and Irish violinist Fionnula Sherry.
The album, however, offers much more than this duo; it is awash in orchestral strings (real ones), a choir (real one), and as many percussionists, harps, fiddles, keyboards, and whistles as are needed.
Songs from a Secret Garden, a chart-topper in Europe, is unabashedly romantic, absolutely gorgeous.
"Sigma," featuring boy soprano Rhonan Sugrue and the Irish National Choir, is very pensive, like dried flowers left, an expected return disappointed.
The lyrics begin, "I search for the sign that will set my soul free." Although Celtic music fans will find many moments of bittersweet nostalgia between the violin, pipes, and pennywhistles, the album's closest musical relation might just be the intimate works of Maurice Ravel, particularly his "Pavanne for a Dead Princess." Romantic themes of true depth, played full out.
Secret Garden is not afraid of tenderness nor beauty.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NocturneRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 2 | PastoraleRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 3 | SigmaRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 4 | PapillonRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Serenade to SpringRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | AtlantiaRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 7 | HeartstringsRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | AdagioRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | The RapRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 10 | ChaconneRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | CantolunaRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| 12 | Ode to SimplicityRolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 39 mins | 89 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 205 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Agnew | Horn (English), Oboe |
| 2 | Erik Avnskog | Mixing |
| 3 | Conan Doyle | Assistant Engineer |
| 4 | Noel Eccles | Percussion |
| 5 | Giovanni | Performer, Piano |
| 6 | Mick Hales | Photography |
| 7 | Hans Fredrik Jacobsen | Whistle (Instrument) |
| 8 | Åsa Jinder | Fiddle |
| 9 | Jan Erik Kongshaug | Mixing |
| 10 | Jean Lechmar | Clarinet |
| 11 | Roland Lovland | Arranger, Choir Master, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Mixing, Piano, Producer |
| 12 | Rolf Løvland | Composer, Producer |
| 13 | Conal Markey | Assistant Engineer |
| 14 | Andrea Marlish | Harp |
| 15 | Giovanni Marradi | Piano |
| 16 | Des Moore | Guitar, Mandolin |
| 17 | Bjørn Ole Rasch | Keyboards |
| 18 | RTÉ Concert Orchestra | Ensemble |
| 19 | Secret Garden | Ensemble, Primary Artist |
| 20 | Fionnuala Sherry | Violin |
| 21 | Davy Spillane | Guest Artist, Low Whistle, Uillean Pipes |
| 22 | Rhonan Sugrue | Soprano (Vocal) |
| 23 | Oskar Pall Sveinsson | Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | John Tate | Conductor, Orchestration |
| 25 | Scott Townsend | Design |
| 26 | Gunnhild Tvinnereim | Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |